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Home , Duke of Sussex, Royal Marriages Act 1772

The Aristocratic Connection

There is an interesting connection with the British aristocracy though Jane Ann Underwood who was George Underwood Alley's mother.

In January 1781, Jane Underwood's elder sister, Elizabeth Underwood (1761-1829), married Arthur Saunders-Gore, the Second Earl of Arran (1734-1809) of Great Cumberland Place, .1 He was a Member of the Irish Parliament for Donegal (1759-60 and 1768- 1773) and County Wexford (1761-68).2

Elizabeth became the Countess Elizabeth Gore and one of their daughters, Cecilia Letitia Gore (1789-1873), was known as Lady Cecilia Gore (GEN 3 in Figure 5:24)3 - she was George Underwood Alley's cousin and therefore my first cousin, five removed.

In May 1815, Lady Cecilia Gore married Sir George Buggin (1759-1825), some 30 years her senior and became Lady Cecilia Buggin4. The lasted about 10 years until Sir George Buggin died in April 1825. Six years later, on 2 May 1831, Lady Cecilia assumed her mother's maiden surname of Underwood "by virtue of the King's sign manual"5 and married His Royal Highness (HRH) Augustus Frederick Hanover, of Sussex and Earl of Inverness (1773-1843) at her home at Great Cumberland Place, London. The Duke was the sixth son of King George III (1738-1820) and Queen Sophia Charlotte de Mecklenburg- Strelitz (1744-1818).

Their marriage contravened the Royal Act 1772, as the permission of the sovereign (William IV) had not been sought, and was therefore considered to be unlawful. This meant that Cecilia remained Lady Cecilia Underwood as she could not take the title Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex. She was also restricted from being present at any functions attended by other members of the Royal Family as she was unable to take a seat beside her husband due to her lower rank.6

In 1840, resolved the situation by raising Lady Cecilia to the rank of a peeress in her own right by creating for her the title of Duchess of Inverness, which recognised her husband's subsidiary title of Earl of Inverness.7

1 This was Arthur Saunders-Gore's third marriage and he had 9 children from his first two marriages (Debretts , and Ireland, 1825). 2 The Genealogist: Genealogy Quarterly Magazine, Vol.2, 1885; The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Vol. 1, 1910 (through MyHeritage). 3 Colonial Gazette, 29 April 1843, London, Middlesex, UK, p264. 4 Debretts Peerage of England, Scotland and Ireland, 1825; Colonial Gazette, 29 April 1843, London, Middlesex, UK, p264. 5 Colonial Gazette, 29 April 1843, London, Middlesex, UK, p264; The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses his or her pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act, for example, an appointment to an office, or an authority for affixing the Great Seal of the pertinent realm. The sign- manual is also used to give power to make and ratify treaties (Wikipedia). 6 Cecilia Underwood, 1st Duchess of Inverness, Wikipedia, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilia_Underwood,_1st_Duchess_of_Inverness). 7 Colonial Gazette, 29 April 1843, London, Middlesex, UK, p264; Cecilia Underwood, 1st Duchess of Inverness, Wikipedia, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilia_Underwood,_1st_Duchess_of_Inverness).

The Colonial Gazette of 29 April 1843 observed that:

"There can be no doubt that Lady Cecilia effected a great improvement in her name when she substituted Underwood for Buggin. Her claim to this indulgence rested on the fact that the maiden name of her mother was Underwood, that lady being the daughter of Mr. Richard Underwood, a gentleman long resident in Dublin, and well known in that city."8

Augustus Frederick, and Earl of Inverness, died in April 1843 at and was buried at Kensal Green cemetery in London. Cecilia, Duchess of Inverness, continued to reside at Kensington Palace until her death in August 1873. She was also buried at Kensai Green cemetery next to the Duke.9

8 Colonial Gazette, 29 April 1843, London, Middlesex, UK, p264. 9 Cecilia Underwood, 1st Duchess of Inverness, Wikipedia, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilia_Underwood,_1st_Duchess_of_Inverness).